New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed on Monday that he is weighing a trip to Israel, an excursion that would mark the first international travel of his administration.

“I have not yet set a plan to visit, but it’s not out of the question,” Mr. Cuomo said at an unrelated news conference in Buffalo, N.Y. “I have been corresponding with Israeli officials on the current situation that is going on in the Middle East.”

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Mr. Cuomo was considering a travel schedule that would send the governor to locations including Israel and Puerto Rico, trips that would be conducted for the ostensible purpose of attracting business to an economic-development program, Global NY.

Mr. Cuomo has rarely traveled beyond the borders of New York state since taking office in 2011, venturing to Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, Calif., several times apiece, and once to Puerto Rico, for an annual political conference. But in general he has kept close to home, and an excursion to Israel would represent–literally and figuratively–a major departure for the Democratic governor, who hasn’t visited the country since 2002..

Recent tensions with Palestinians that have inflamed Israel could derail any travel, but Mr. Cuomo said he would be in communication with Israeli officials on Monday and Tuesday, “and I want to be of help.”

And he appears to have some encouragement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who last week sent Mr. Cuomo a letter, according to a copy provided to the Journal. “New York, like Israel, has known the scourge of terrorism,” Mr. Netanyahu wrote. “You clearly understand the threat terrorism poses and the efforts required to fight it.”

“This is complicated and there’s pain on both sides — I get that,” Mr. Cuomo said on Monday. “But I also get that this country has a relationship with Israel that is very important, and New Yorkers do and personally I do. I’ve been to Israel before, I’ve been to Israel during times of terrorist attacks before, as a sign of solidarity. I have two brothers-in-law who are Jewish and I brought them with me last time. So it’s important to my state. It’s important to my family.”